Blonde Hair and Grey Eyes
by Yunagirlamy
Summary: "What the HELL do I write in this thing?" Read the  seriously effing weird  diary of an adopted daughter. WARNING: Contains grey eyes. Don't say I didn't warn you!


**Disclaimer: I only own characters and towns that were not in Final Fantasy VIII. Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft/Enix. **

_Diary entry: _**Monday, 23rd August.**

OhmyHyne.

_Oh_… _my_… _HYNE._

What the HELL do I write in this thing? I don't know what to write, even if the most inspiring thing crashes in through my window. But Mom said it's not a story book. She said to write whatever I want, since I'm the _only_ one who's going to read this.

_Yeah right_. I know my Dad won't be able to resist taking a peek in it, since he's _so_ overprotective of my sister and me. Just because some evil sorceress that he, my Mom and their friends defeated about twenty-six years ago may be alive in our time since they have _no_ idea when she'll be born or if she's already born.

What a load of fucking bullshit. That _has_ to be the biggest amount of bullshit I have _ever_ heard.

Well… I _guess_ that's some_thing_, right? This _is_ kinda cool, though… writing down what I feel instead of saying it. I guess it's a good way of venting my anger.

_Oh!_ I _know_!

Diary, since you don't know me, I'll tell you all about what's happened in the last three years. I'll start from talking about the present and then going into the past, working my way back up to the present – because that sounds so fricking _amazing_. Also because it'll give me something to do for the next of couple of hours. Okay, I'm starting now…

… Once I tell my sister to piss off. I _really_ don't want to go downstairs, even _if_ it's entertaining to watch my Granddad Laguna _some_how get covered in cake.

Right. Now _that's _sorted—oh, for _Hyne's _sake. Now I have to tell my Granddad Laguna to go away. Will _nobody_ leave me alone today? For Hyne's sake, Granddad, what _you_ consider eating isn't what everybody _else_ considers eating.

Okay. I've locked my door now. And I will ignore _every_one. Now, to tell _you_, about my life.

I love my life right now. I also hate it with all of my heart – but that's only because I'm sixteen-years-old… okay, it isn't the _only_ reason. It's a pretty good one, though, _right_? …Okay, so it isn't. I guess I'm just not ready to share what the real reason is—_yet_. I may just let it out. I'll probably get carried away writing in this.

But it's my adopted Mom's fault for getting it me. Oh yeah, I'm adopted. And you know what? I'm rather glad I am, since I know what my real parents were like.

I was three-years-old when my parents adopted me. Because, who _wouldn't_ adopt a little girl with amnesia and whose parents had been brutally murdered? According to my older sister – who is my parents' _real_ daughter, by the way – my Mum decided to adopt me after I cried my eyes out because I couldn't remember anything – I couldn't even remember how to _talk_, so how was I going to remember my _actual_ parents?

So a week after I had lost my parents, I gained a _new_ set of parents, plus an older sister. In turn, my parents received a new daughter, and my sister got what she always wanted—a little sister. How thrilled she must have been, eh? Being only three, I must have been happy, as well. Well, I don't think my Dad was too happy about it – my sister once told me that Dad had said it would have been better to send me to an orphanage. I think my sister was messing with me though. I was six when she told me that and at that age, you believe anything really – plus my sister was eleven, so she was just entering the part in your life when you start shit-stirring.

After I was adopted, life was perfectly normal – if you don't count the fact that my parents and their friends are famous for saving the world, that is. I've always ignored that fact, though. But then of course, it just so happens that my granddad is the frigging _President_ of Esthar and my _other_ granddad is the general of the Gabaldian army! My _SISTER_ is even relatively known for becoming a SeeD at the age of fifteen! It gets worse from there, though. When I was thirteen, my parents sat me down and that me that I was adopted. I was shocked, as expected. Now I think myself stupid for never figuring it out long before the age of thirteen: I mean, I have (well, _had_) frigging _blonde_ hair! Both my parents have dark hair. But that wasn't the worst part - in fact, far from it.

Because, when they told me that I was adopted, I began to hope that my real parents had been _normal_. You know, _not_ known to the rest of the world and just another couple out of millions in the world who were married and had a child or children. My hopes were quickly shot down. When I asked my parents what my real parents had been, do you know what they answered?

That my father had been the _frigging MAJOR_ of some relatively well-known town and my mother was campaigning to be _PRESIDENT_ somewhere!

So there I was: thirteen-years-old and what had I achieved with my life so far?

Absolutely _nothing_. There was nothing I had done to make myself known to the world. So on the same night that I found out that I was adopted I made the decision that I would make myself known – not necessarily to the _world_, but at least to Balamb and its neighbouring countries.

The next day was the first day of the rest of my life. Up until then, I had always been Miss Goody-Two Shoes: always told my parents where I was going, who with and what time I'd be back. However, on that day, I just slipped out of the door without as much as a goodbye. I knew _exactly_ what I wanted to do. Most of my friends were smokers and were always telling me how good it was – on that day, I made the choice I would find out for myself.

I told my friends about my decision, and whilst the ones who _weren't_ smokers were displeased with the idea – the ones who were smokers were delighted with it! The people who didn't smoke went away (and I've actually never seen them again) and then my friends who did smoke gave me a cigarette and a lighter. I popped the cigarette in my mouth, lit the lighter with the switch thing that it has, and lit the cigarette – first thing that happened after I took a drag was I started to cough and then I got this really horrible taste in my mouth like… tar or something. However, it was strangely… satisfying.

One of my friends grinned at me and told me that the more I smoke, the more I get used to it. So the more I smoked… and the more I got used to it. I smoke regularly now. I was caught by my sister once. I remember every single little detail about that moment – how could I not? As well as my sister being shocked, I was equally shocked, if not more.

It was two months after I had started smoking. The sky was pitch black with stars shining like gems. The moon reflected on the water, in turn, making the water slightly brighter. I was sat cross-legged on the edge of the docks in Balamb Harbour holding a cigarette to my open lips. As was the usual routine, I was on my own. None of my other friends defied their parents when it came to what time they were supposed to be back. I had to be back by eight in the evening; at that moment, it was _eleven_ in the evening. So I'd be grounded for a week yet again. I remember that a smirk came to my lips when I thought about that. I actually _enjoyed_ disobeying my parents (and still do).

So anyway, there I was puffing away on my… hang on a minute; let me think… _twelfth _cigarette of the whole day, when I hear what can be described as the most awful sound in the entire world.

"_Mary-Ann, what are you doing here?"_

How the _HELL_ did she know it was me? (And isn't my name just _THE_ worst, EVER?)

I replied with: _"What are YOU doing here?"_

"_Well, er… I came to look for you."_

"_Mum and Dad send you, then?"_

"_No. Although Dad was going to come and… are… are you… SMOKING?"_

This is the part where I was thinking: _'OH FRIGGING SHIT!' _But THEN, my sister _TOTALLY_ surprised me with what she said next.

"_Because if you are, have you got any fags? I've gone the whole day without one and I just really need one!"_

I gasped at her comment, and in turn, I took in a lot of smoke. I coughed and my sister sat beside me, thumping my back slightly and then rubbing it. Then I heard _her_ gasp. My grey eyes widened and I suddenly realised I still had a cigarette in my hand.

"_So you ARE smoking! And here's me thinking you were a good girl…"_

"_You're not mad that I smoke?"_

My sister shrugged at my comment.

"_Why should I be? Your life, not mine. But…"_ She dragged the last word out. _"I won't tell if you give me three cigarettes."_

"_No frigging way!"_

_"Fine. I'll just phone Mum and Dad and tell them that you're smoking." _She already had her phone out and was punching in a number. I presumed that it was our house phone number. My right hand shot up to grab the mobile out of her hand but my sister just smirked and held the phone out of her reach above her head. She stretched her right arm out and kept opening and closing her hand. _"Three cigarettes – and I won't tell."_

I sighed. Our parents were more likely to believe my sister out of the two of us. I was thirteen and she was eighteen – it was frigging inevitable who they'd choose to believe!

I dug my hand into my jeans pocket and presented a packet of cigarettes to my sister. She happily took the packet off me and took out three fags, and then passed it back to me. I looked in the packet and frowned. I had _two_ cigarettes left! Frigging _two_! I pocketed the packet and went back to smoking. I glanced at the one I had. Not much was left of it. I sighed once more and then looked at my sister. She was happily smoking, and was swinging her legs over the edge.

"_I hope you're happy now, Rose," _I said to her. (Why does my sister get to have such a pretty name? It's not _fair_!)

"_Totally."_

Until midnight, we both sat there smoking and talking. I asked how long she had been smoking for and she answered since she was fifteen. I asked her why and she replied with: _"Well, training to be in SeeD is quite stressful. I needed something to free me of stress – and cigarettes were the first stress relief I was introduced to. I was totally aware of the health risks, but I didn't really care, to be honest. I know loads of people who are, like, eighty now or something and have smoked all their life. Besides, I can always just give up – I have enough willpower to give smoking up whenever I want. How about you? Why did you start smoking?"_

I looked at the cigarette (it was a fresh one) and then at my sister. I wondered if I should tell her the truth. It seemed as if she wasn't going to tell our parents (she didn't anyway), so I told her the truth. Well, half of it anyway.

"_Honestly? Because I wanted to know what it was like. Some of my friends smoke and I wanted to try it out for myself."_

"_I know."_

"_Know what?"_

"_That some of your friends smoke."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. I sometimes borrow fags off them. And they sometimes borrow fags off me. Ever wondered where they get their fags from? Well, now you know."_

To be truthful, I never did actually wonder. But it was cool to know.

We sat there until we finished our fags. When we did, we both stood up and Rose grabbed my arm.

"_Come on then. I've brought my pistols, so we'll be safe."_

Honestly, ever since my sister became a SeeD, she thinks she's invincible.

When we arrived home, all the lights were off so we both sneaked upstairs quietly. We both knew we were in for it the next morning, though. We sat in the living room – Mum sat there, arms crossed and glaring at us, especially at Rose. Dad really laid into us.

"_What the hell do you two think you're doing? Coming in at midnight? Anyone could have been on the streets at that time of night!"_

Rose rolled her eyes. I knew that she was sick of still being treated like a little child by Dad, but I understood it from Dad's point of view, too. He was right. There _could_ have been anyone on the streets at midnight and we were lucky we managed to make it back home safely.

"_Dad, I'm a SeeD. I'm perfectly capable of protecting both myself and Mary."_

That's the excuse Rose _always _comes up with – and Dad _always_ has a comeback.

"_Being a SeeD doesn't mean you can fully protect yourself and your sister. You're not invincible, Rose! Just because you're a SeeD does not mean the possibility of being killed isn't there anymore!"_

Then Mum had something to say.

"_Rose Leonhart, you really should know better! Considering you are eighteen-years-old now." _Then Mum started eyeing my jeans pocket. I looked down too – and I silently swore. I had left my packet of cigarettes in my pocket! I was _definitely_ in for it now. _"Mary-Ann, what is in your pocket?" _Mum questioned.

I decided to play clueless.

"_There's nothing there, Mum. You must be going mad."_

"_I'm not – there is definitely something there!"_

"_Mum, there really isn—"_

"—_Mary-Ann!"_ Dad cut in, sharply. _"Take… whatever. It. Is. Out. Of your pocket!"_

I sighed in defeat and slowly withdrew the cigarettes from my pocket – Mum gasped and Dad spoke. I say _spoke_…

"_Have you been smoking?"_

More like _yelled_.

"_No, I hav—"_

"—_they're mine."_

We all looked to Rose as her voice cut across mine. I pulled a _"what-the-frigging-hell-are-you-doing?" _face at her and she just smiled! My sister is frigging _CRAZY_. She _admitted_ to smoking! To the people who saved the world from an evil sorceress! If they could kill a sorceress, just _imagine_ what they could do to their eighteen-year-old daughter!

Mum and Dad quickly faced Rose. Whilst Mum had her mouth slightly open, Dad was breathing hard and his eyes were narrowed in anger at Rose. I could tell he was seriously pissed off. But he actually shouldn't have been. Because you know, Rose _was_ eighteen! Isn't that the age where you, like, become an adult or something?

"_YOU… SMOKE?"_

I don't need to say who said that. I think it's pretty damn clear who said it.

"_Yes,"_ Rose answered, _"but I actually think its okay. I mean, I AM eighteen, right? Old enough to make my own decisions."_

Did Dad really give two flying shits? _Nope._

"_I don't care HOW old you are! WHEN did you start smoking?"_

I bit my lip, wondering if Rose was going to tell the truth. I mean, that would make it worse, right? I watched Rose's facial expressions carefully; it looked as if she was contemplating the same as me. She gazed down and bit her lower lip. A few moments later, she sighed deeply and bought her head up to face Dad and spoke out, her voice cutting through the silence in the living room.

"_I was… fifteen." _Dad went to speak but Rose continued. _"Before you blow up at me, I have a very good reason. I'm sure you'll understand it. Training to be in SeeD – it got stressful for me and the first stress relief I came across were cigarettes."_

Dad sighed and rested the palm of his hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes and shook his head timidly, before speaking.

"_Please – don't tell me you smoke around your sister."_

"_No, I don't," _Rose answered. Well, that was _two_ lies. I wonder if Mum and Dad figured out that she was lying?

"_Why were the cigarettes in Mary-Ann's pocket?" _Hm. Dad _never_ calls me Mary. Always Mary-Ann. (Anyway, getting back to the topic on hand…) I looked at Rose, wondering how she was going to answer this one. She was silent for a few moments.

"_Last night, when Mary came home, she saw me smoking. I was afraid that she'd tell on me, so I blackmailed her into putting my cigarettes into her pocket. I told her that I'd make it worth her while."_

"_You risked your sister getting into trouble just to save your own skin?" _Dad questioned. He did not sound pleased at all. Rose nodded at his question. _"Rose Raine Leonhart, I am very disappointed in you. I can't believe that you would do that to your sister!"_

What Dad didn't know was that Rose was actually _saving_ me from getting into trouble. My sister is _THE_ best sister ever. I seriously mean it.

Rose got grounded for a month and had _all_ of her luxuries taken away from her – I only got grounded for a week (remember, I stayed out late) and only had my television taken away from me. I felt terribly guilty but Rose just told me not to worry and that it was her job to protect me. She also said that she didn't mind, because it meant she could have free time to write some songs (she was learning how to play the piano at that time and her piano teacher set her the task of trying to write some songs by herself). That wasn't a problem, because we had a piano and it _wasn't_ in her room.

Mum and Dad let Rose still smoke though, but only under the condition that she wasn't seen by them. Rose doesn't really _care_ where she smokes, though. She'll just go ahead and smoke. Sometimes, though, she'll wait for me somewhere and we'll smoke together.

However, I did not stop at smoking.

Two years ago and two days before my fourteenth birthday, my friends – again, just the ones who smoke – took me out of Balamb (without my parents' consent, may I add, but Rose knew) and all the way to Deling City. It took absolute ages to get there on the train, and plus, I wasn't aware of where my friends were taking me. So when we got off the train, I gasped and immediately questioned my friends.

"_Guys! What are we doing in Deling City?" _All of the smiles on my friends' faces fell at my question. From that I guessed that they assumed I hadn't been there before.

We started to walk from the train station to the escalators.

"_You've… been here before?" _Ashleigh asked, uncrossing her arms.

"_Yes!"_

We stepped onto the downwards escalator and I crossed my arms in annoyance – I had thought that my friends were going to take me somewhere exciting; not a boring dump like Deling City! I don't see why people find it so entertaining – there's really not much to do there.

"_That sucks. Well, we might as well tell you why we've dragged you all the way over here," _Kelly commentated – a bright smile lighting up her features. _"Since you like smoking, we thought you might like experiencing getting pissed." _

We stepped off the escalator and then we walked into the city. My friends looked around them, whilst I just strolled behind them; sighing every once in a while to show my boredom. Then, I had suddenly realised what Kelly said. My grey eyes widened and I stopped walking.

"_Wait. Getting pissed? That's definitely a bad idea."_

"_Why is it?" _The others stopped and looked at me, curious looks etched on their faces.

"_Because – my granddad lives here!"_

"_So?"_

"_My granddad is General Fury Caraway!"_

"… _Shit."_

"_Shit is right! I wouldn't mind getting pissed; just not here!"_

"_Heeeey… you DID say that your granddad is General Caraway, right?" _

"_Yes. That's not a good thing!"_

"_Yes it is."_

I gave Ashleigh a bewildered look; how could it possibly have been a good thing? I have to say, though, her reason for it was logical.

"_So, he's the general of the Gabaldian army, right? Now, we all know what the Gabaldian army is like. They like to invade a lot and shit like that." _Ashleigh was talking quietly because as you probably are aware, Deling City is _full_ of Gabaldian soldiers. _"Now, all that invading means someone has to sign a lot of paperwork and say 'Go ahead and do it'."_

"_Ohhh! I get you, now! My granddad is the one who does all that! Which means that he has no time to go outside!"_

Ashleigh nodded her head with a smirk on her face.

"_Exactly. Now, I say we go and get pissed!"_

We all agreed with her and then like a small child in a sweet shop, we took off running into the shit hole that is Deling City. Luckily for us, Kelly looked about twenty, so she was able to acquire alcohol easily for us. Whilst all the others had drunk alcohol before, it was my first time – no surprise there. So when I first tried it, I was stunned.

I thought that it would like any other drink – just a nice taste. But I was wrong. It was a bitter taste and it burnt my throat as it slipped down like a cunning snake. I absolutely _hated_ it – but I _needed_ more! Needless to say, I got drunk within two hours (man, I was such a fucking lightweight back then!), as did the others.

That's when it went all wrong.

We were staggering all over town, laughing and talking loudly. We got to Gabaldia Hotel and we just stopped walking. That was our biggest mistake of the day – my Granddad came out of the hotel and immediately recognised me.

"_Mary-Ann? What on EARTH are you doing?"_

I laughed drunkenly.

"_I… errrrr… friends bring me here."_

He gasped and realised I was drunk (the only reason I actually know this is that Granddad – reluctantly – told me what had happened. Hey, I was curious!) Granddad grabbed me by the wrist and yelled at me: _"You're DRUNK! How disgraceful! You're coming with me young lady!" _In case you're wondering, my friends were not as drunk as I was and had scarpered.

I laughed at him, but with the help of some Gabaldian soldiers, I was dragged to his mansion. When we arrived there, Granddad told me something that I would have been scared of normally, but I was too drunk to care.

"_Young lady, I am phoning your parents so that they can come and see the disgrace you really are!"_

Ouch. If I wasn't drunk, I would have gone and cried in a corner somewhere. But all I did was tell him I didn't care and then I stuck my two fingers up at him. Then the inevitable came. I began to feel _very _nauseous and Granddad could see that too. So before he could call my parents and tell them what a disgrace I really was, he rushed me to the nearest toilet and held my hair back whilst I… well, you can guess what I was doing. After I was finished, Granddad took me to the living room, made me sit down and then he got me some water.

_Then_ he went and called my parents.

I was too bothered with how I was feeling to listen in on the conversation, but if I had have done, I would have been very surprised and relieved. Because, at least an hour later, when I thought it was my parents that had come, it was in fact my sister.

Hyne, I bloody love my sister!

"_Oh, Mary!"_ she exclaimed when she saw me and came rushing to me. She knelt in front of me, and placed the palm of her hand on my forehead. When she pulled it away, she sighed. _"I'm sorry, sis. If I had known your so-called friends were going to do this, I would have protested against you going."_ She stood up and turned to Granddad. _"Please, Granddad. Don't tell Mom and Dad. It's not Mary's fault. She wouldn't have become drunk if not for their influence."_

Granddad sighed – a sign that he gave in to Rose's pleas.

"_Alright, I won't tell them. But the next time – and I hope there will not BE a next time – I will tell them. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Loud and clear, sir," _Rose answered him. Then she turned back to me. _"Alright then, let's get you home and in bed. And I promise I'll be extra quiet when you wake up tomorrow morning."_

Rose was true to her word. Soon as we got home, Rose made sure I got into my pyjamas (she _is_ my sister) and when Mom and Dad came home and asked why I was in bed so early, Rose answered: _"Oh, she's been having trouble sleeping at night lately, and I told her it would be a good idea if she went to bed early."_

… I wasn't having trouble sleeping at night, by the way.

The next morning, I woke up with _THE_ biggest headache, _ever_! I don't think there's an ever worse feeling! My brain was telling me to sit up, but my body was responding with: _"Fuck that!"_ I just lay there, groaning quietly, a hand absently on my forehead. Then there was a soft knock at my door, even though it sounded like a hammer pounding on it. Whoever knocked didn't wait for an answer, and just opened the door.

It was Rose.

"_Hey,"_ she whispered, _"How are you feeling right now? D'ya want some paracetamol?"_

I nodded and Rose came into my room, shut the door as quietly as possible with her back, and then came over to my bed. She placed a glass of water and painkillers on my beside table.

"_I told Mom and Dad that you're still sleeping," _she said, still whispering. She gently helped me to sit up. _"So if I were you, I'd just stay in bed."_

"_Have… have you been hung-over before?" _I asked.

"_Yes,"_ she answered simply.

"_When?"_

"… _It doesn't matter. All that matters is getting you better."_

And for the rest of the day, all Rose concentrated on was making sure I was well.

She really is the best sister.

Mum came by, just to check I was okay. She came into my room really quietly – either she thought I was sleeping or she _knew_ I was hung-over. She knelt by my bed and placed a hand over my forehead. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I couldn't be bothered to say anything. Mum could, though.

"_I know why you're ill," _she said, her voice as soft as a feather.

My eyes widened at this.

"_Oh, don't worry about it. Your dad doesn't know. But I can understand, Mary. I was fourteen once, too, you know. Okay, you're still technically thirteen, but whatever."_

"_It wasn't—"_

"—_your fault, I know. Rose told me. Just don't worry about it, okay? I know what being hung-over is like," _Mum casually brushed a few strands of stray hair out of my face, _"and I'm not mad at you or anything like that. I just feel furious at your friends for doing this to my youngest daughter."_

"_So do I," _drifted Rose's voice from the doorway. She stood there for a few moments before walking up to my bed and kneeling by it, just like Mum was. _"I think you need some new friends, Mary. You know, Mum, they told me that they were taking her to Deling City to celebrate her birthday. If I'd known just what kind of celebrating they meant, I never would have allowed it."_

"_It's okay, Rose. You didn't know. I'm not mad at you." _Then Mum turned to me. _"Or you. Besides, I know my girls wouldn't do anything bad."_

That kind of made me feel guilty.

"_What… about Dad?" _I questioned.

"_We'll just tell him that you got food poisoning," _said Mum.

Have I ever said how much I love my Mom?

So my fourteenth birthday came and went – nothing particularly exciting happened in that year. However, the next year was _totally_ different.

I was fifteen-years-old and I'm sure we all know what fifteen-year-olds are like. They're stupid – and I was no different. Not only was I drinking and smoking still, but I also decided to dress different and to wear make-up.

_Lots _of it.

Once again, I can blame my friends. We were in my room, because my friends decided that I needed a make-over in the final stages of becoming "cool". They brought over all kinds of make-up: foundation, lip-gloss, blusher, powder – just about anything that covered your skin really. They also brought along revealing clothes, like miniskirts and low cut tops. We made sure that my parents were out before actually doing anything. Rose was downstairs with her boyfriend or "fiancée" as she likes to boast.

So first, the make-up was tried. Ashleigh was in charge of the make-up, Kelly of the clothes and Sophie in charge of the hair dye (yes, they brought hair dye too).

"_Wearing foundation totally covers any spots you have on your face and plus, it's just totally cool."_

"_And lip gloss makes any hot boys want to kiss you!"_

"_And if you wear tops that show off your cleavage, then you'll have had sex by this time next year."_

"_Sex?" _I cried. _"I'm okay with smoking and drinking but – sex? That is too far."_

"_Oh, come on," _Kelly said, throwing her arm around my shoulder. _"Sex is great! Yeah, the first time you're nervous, but once you say, 'so how about it then?' everything gets going!"_

"… _How about it then?" _I echoed, raising a sceptic eyebrow._ "How does that make you and the other person have sex?"_

"_Because everything will have been tensed and then you and your partner will be fed up of the silence and just be desperate to Do It."_

"_I'm guessing you've had sex then, Kelly," _Ashleigh said, concentrating on twirling on lock of pink (yes, _pink_. Her hair is brown, with blonde and pink highlights. It looks pretty cool, to be fair) hair around her finger. _"Did you enjoy it? I did."_

"_Me too!" _Sophie added, who was trailing a brush through her bleached blonde hair. _"Who's had a five some as well?"_

There was a few moments silence as we stared at Sophie with disbelief – and some disgust – and with our mouths hung wide open. And of course, I was the first to break the silence.

"_What the HELL?" _I cried, making sure I wasn't _too_ loud as to attract the attention of my sister or her "fiancée". _"How on – wait, I don't want to know."_

"_It was very enjoyable," _Sophie remarked, a satisfied smile gracing her lips. Her look was one of reminiscence. So we decided to leave Sophie alone with her memories at that point.

"_Erm, in answer to your assumption, Ashleigh," _Kelly cast a nervous glance at Sophie, _"Yes, I have." _Then she turned back to me. _"Mary, you should try it! Honestly, it's brill!"_

"_I'll take your word for it, Kels. But what if my parents find out?" _I was seriously considering having sex. If I was to be known as a slag around Balamb – and its neighbouring countries, then so be it.

"_Then don't have sex here, then!" _Kelly advised. _"It's probably best not to have sex in Deling City, though."_

"_Or Esthar," _I said.

"_Oh, lemme guess," _said Ashleigh. _"Your other granddad lives in Esthar."_

"_He's the frigging president of it," _I answered, slumping my shoulders. I hated admitting that to people.

Ashleigh fell off my bed in shock. _"WHOA! HE'S THE FUCKING PRESIDENT?" _

It was then that Rose burst through my door.

"_Alright! Who's fucking a president?" _She questioned urgently. I could see her "fiancée" trailing behind her, arms crossed.

"_No one is, Rose," _I answered.

"_I came close to it! He was actually very hot… or was he a major?" _Sophie said. Rose looked at her with the same expression Ashleigh, Kelly and I had earlier and then she shook her head and looked back to me.

"_So what was all the racket about then?" _Rose asked.

"_Oh, just that your sister, up until now, had failed to inform us that your granddad is Laguna Loire, the president of Esthar!" _Kelly shot an annoyed look at me, her arms folded across her chest.

Rose only rolled her eyes. _"Oh yeah, _that_. You know, Mary, I don't see why you're embarrassed to admit it. I mean, he spoils us rotten!"_

"_You know why THAT is, Rose," _I replied.

"_Well, yeah, that's part of it. But, really, you can't blame him, can ya?" _There was silence, and then Rose smiled. _"Oh well! I love Granddad. Best granddad in the world! Probably the richest too."_

"_Rose, are you coming? We need to get back to our… session," _said Rose's "fiancée". My friends and I all shared a look: a smirk and raised eyebrows. Rose's mood and body language completely changed. She trailed her hand down the bit of her "fiancée's" chest that was revealed (he was wearing a white shirt with the half the buttons undone) and smiled suggestively.

"_Okay. But you and the other one have to promise to behave."_

"_I can't promise that, not when I've got such a sexy body to work with. Mind you, yours ain't that bad either."_

"_Oh, shut up, you bastard," _and then Rose shut the door. We immediately burst out laughing – except for Sophie. She looked like she was having a trip down memory lane again.

"_I think we should talk about something else now," _I suggested, glancing over at Sophie. Kelly and Ashleigh nodded their heads.

"_Like – what colour to dye your hair! It's been fifteen years now, love," _Kelly remarked, grabbing a single packet of hair dye from where Sophie was sitting. _"I think you've out grown the blonde hair." _She twirled the packet of hair dye in her hands and pursed her lips.

"_Maybe we should just try highlights first. What will my parents—"_

"—_your dad may be a Commander or whatever, but he can do jack shit about what colour your hair is," _Ashleigh remarked. I cast her a bewildered stare. _"I know your Mom will probably say it's nice," _she explained.

Damn. She knew my Mum as well as I do.

"_My Dad can do a lot of things," _I countered, _"I'm his daughter. He can punish me in various ways. You know, like ground me, yell at me, spa—"_

"—_yeah, yeah," _Kelly interrupted, waving her hand about. _"Let's just decide on a colour." _Kelly had a bad experience with spanking when she was younger and didn't like anyone bringing up the topic. _"I think brown. It would draw attention away from those awful grey eyes."_

"_Hey!"_ I cried, very offended. _"There's nothing wrong with my eyes!"_

"_They're GREY_," Ashleigh remarked.

"_So?"_

"_Dudette," Kelly started, "no one has grey eyes. They're just… weird."_

"I_ have grey eyes!" _I seriously could _not_ believe what they were saying. I mean, what is honestly wrong with my eyes? They're _grey_! I think grey is a lovely, underrated colour.

"_Which is why we're dying your hair brown," _Kelly replied sternly.

I sighed. I was defeated, and I knew it. _"I really don't have any say in the matter, do I?"_

Kelly held up the hair dye, with her lips curled up in an _evil_ smirk. _"Nope."_ Suddenly, Ashleigh and Sophie grabbed my arms, one arm each, and pinned them behind my back. They forced me into the en-suite bathroom and made me sit on the toilet – with the lid down, of course.

"_Now, don't worry," _Kelly assured me, whilst putting on a pair of latex gloves, _"this practice is completely legal." _She snapped the gloves into place—_still_ smirking. I frowned worryingly. I would have put my hands to my head but my arms were still being held to my back.

Kelly filled a small, plastic bottle with the brown dye and walked over to me, her hips swaying as she did.

"_If you get a permanent purple forehead, please don't sue me."_

"… _What?" _I squeaked out. All of a sudden, I felt the slightly cold dye on my head, and a few seconds later, Kelly started rubbing it into my hair. _"Are you sure this is safe?" _There was a long pause before Kelly answered.

"_I can't be, completely, totally, entirely, fully, wholly, exclusively—"_

"—_Kelly! I think you've gone through _every_ synonym of that word!"_

"—_solely… absolutely one hundred percent that this particular product is safe."_

"… _Great."_

About half an hour later, Kelly was done. When the girls led me to a mirror, I covered my _extremely attractive_ grey eyes with my hands and started muttering about "demons possessing my friends".

"_You look really good, Annie!" _Sophie exclaimed. "Annie"? That's a new one. She'll be calling me fricking Sam Tyler next thing.

"_Yes and no one will notice those grey eyes anymore!"_ Ashleigh said.

"_You'll be the talk of Balamb!"_

"_You mean I'll be on the receiving end of my Dad's mouth."_

"_Just tell him to fuck off."_

_"If I do that, you'll be attending my funeral in a couple of days." _It's true; my Dad has a bit of a temper on him. When he's mad, he'll go absolutely mental, but he's _really_ pissed off, he'll be all quiet and serious. I prefer the yelling and shouting, to be honest.

"_Mary-Ann, your dinner's ready! Tell your friends to leave now!"_

"_Okay, Rose!" _I turned to the girls—but they had already fled out the room. I swear, they have really quick reflexes. Anyway, that was when I caught a glimpse of my hair in the mirror. I gasped and turned to focus my attention on it.

It was a light brown colour, like milk chocolate… or like the colour of my Dad's hair. I grabbed small locks of hair in my hands and admired it. It looked _amazing! _I couldn't believe how fucking _epic_ I looked with brown hair!

I _still _have brown hair. Not by choice. They used the fucking _permanent_ hair dye.

After some admiration, the panic suddenly set in. I loosed my hair and I _swear _– I stood there for an _hour_, frozen to the spot. It was when my sister threatened me that I was snapped out of my trance.

"_Mary-Ann, if you don't get down here in the next ten seconds, I'll drag you down by your hair!"_

"_Fuck!" _I whispered and without thinking… I went down-fucking-stairs. Gingerly, I might add. As if the stairs were rigged with explosions that would go off at the slightest touch. When I eventually made it into the dining room, this was the first thing I heard:

"_Did you do something to your hair, Mary-Ann?" _

Rose's "fiancée" added, _"It seems to be… darker." _It was then I that noticed that a smirk was on their faces! They were making fun of me!

"_You know, Mary, I like it," _Rose said.

"_Really?" _I urged, my voice rising in pitch. I sat down opposite Rose.

"_Yeah," _she said, _"It really draws the attention away from those grey eyes." _My mouth dropped open in disbelief; even my _sister_ was dissing my eyes!

"_What the Hyne is wrong with my—"_

"—_Dad'll be pissed off, though."_

"_I agree," _said Rose's "fiancée". _"I've only ever met Squall three times, and from that and what I've heard from my Dad, I think he won't like this one bit."_

I huffed and crossed my arms. _"Look, I don't give a shit what Dad—"_

"—_you don't give a _what_ what I think?" _

I froze. It was literally as if the GF Shiva had been summoned and she froze me. I could _feel_ Dad's glare _burning_ into me. I looked over to Rose – she had her face buried in her hands. Her "fiancée" had his eyes downcast.

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly, I was yanked out of my seat and was greeted with the sight of Dad staring straight at my hair.

"_What the—? What have you done to your hair?"_

Thankfully, Mum came to the rescue. She came from behind Dad, took his hand off my arm and then ran her own hand through my hair.

"_Oh, Squall. Don't be such a meanie! I could understand if she dyed it all sorts of colours—but she's only dyed it _brown_. Besides, think of it on the positive side." _My Mom then said something that made me want to curl up on the floor and weep. _"Those grey eyes aren't so bold anymore."_

Okay. What is wrong with my eyes? _FRIGGING NOTHING! _SO WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THAT THEY'RE HORRIBLE? I'LL TELL YOU WHAT COLOUR EYES ARE HORRIBLE! _BROWN_! FUCKING _BROWN_! WHY? YOU CAN'T SEE THE FRIGGING BLACK BIT!

…

Sorry about that. I… _get_ like that sometimes.

Rose jumped up from her chair, came behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. I glanced quizzically at her.

"_Dad, lighten up!" _Rose flicked some of my hair with her index finger. _"Mary looks like she's your actual daughter now! Except for the grey eyes, which are—" _Rose paused when she saw the death glare I was sending her way.

Dad crossed his arms. _"I wasn't that mad about your hair. Heat of the moment. Sorry, Mary. But I don't like hearing filthy words coming from your mouth."_

I just stared at Dad blankly. Wanna know why? Because he… he _actually_… he _actually_ called me Mary! That and he apologised to me.

Rose nudged me – rather _hard_, too.

"_Err, I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't know you were there."_

Dad waved his hand, which meant he wasn't too bothered about it anymore. _"That's okay. Rose, I need to talk to you about matters concerning," _Dad paused and quickly looked at me, then back to Rose, _"well, you know." _

"_Right," _Rose replied, giving Dad a thumbs up. She then sauntered over to her "fiancée" and grabbed his arm. _"Come on, Kilden. You can come along, too."_

I looked at them in confusion as they walked out the room. I tried asking Mom what they were going to talk about, but she just saying that she didn't know, either. However, I did not have to wait long, though.

Because, about a year later, Mom and Dad had to go to a town to talk about some peace arrangement with the major. Now, remember earlier that I wrote that my _real_ Dad had been the major of a relatively well-known town? This was the town that Mum and Dad had to go to. I was dragged along; solely for the fact that Dad decided I couldn't be trusted to look after the house on my own (Rose and her "fiancée" were away on private business).

We went by train, which was _totally_ boring. I mean, watching a landscape going by really quickly? _BORING._ Although, it was funny when Mom and Dad fell off the top bunk bed when they were… "playing" with each other. They denied it after, but I heard them. I think the whole _train_ heard them.

Oh yeah, by that time I had sex over fifty times. Half of those times was with_out_ protection, which means half of the boys I've done have blank shots. By the way, "how about it then?" _definitely_ works.

Anyway, when we arrived at the town, we were greeted by a grinning young boy, looking around twenty. As soon as we stepped off the train, spoke loudly, throwing his arms around in a grand gesture.

"_Hi! Welcome to Matigar!_" He held his hand out to Dad. Dad gave a strange look to him, and then shook his hand. "_I'm Major Carlrick of this peaceful town_." The major turned to Mum and me and bowed, but when he came back up, his eyes met my face. His grin dropped into a frown, and his nose became wrinkled. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Then he cleared his throat and straightened his back.

"_Shall we… move to somewhere more private?_"

Mum and Dad nodded, and then we followed the major. We walked through the town, and I'll describe it from what I can remember of it. It was only a few months ago that this happened, actually.

Matigar is a sort of round town; the houses are lined either side forming a neat circle. In the middle of this is a fountain that, err, doesn't spout water. It spouts something, though. Can't write it because I'll be sick, _again_.

We reached the major house or whatever it's called, and was promptly taken inside by the major. To be honest, I thought that the major's house would have been, like, _massive_, but it, like… _wasn't_. It was about the same size of an average sized house. But I don't know how big that is, though.

When we stepped inside, we were in a hallway with red walls and a white carpet. On the wall hung two flamboyant portraits. One of a woman, and the other of a man. I didn't think too much of them at the time.

We were led into the major's office, which was kinda spacey. A wooden desk was in front of a big window, and a few vases were on display. The major took Mum and Dad over to the desk whilst they talked. I don't what about, I can't remember. I was staring at one of the vases. It was blue with yellow stripes that wrapped around it. It didn't look like it was made out of whatever vases are normally made out of, so I wanted to touch it. I lifted my finger up and brought it closer to the vase, when Dad stopped me,

"_Mary-Ann!"_ he snapped, _"Don't touch ANYthing." _

"_Okay, okay!"_ I answered quickly, bringing my hands up to my chest.

"_You'll have to excuse my daughter. She's not long turned sixteen, you see," _Dad said. Which was, I think, _really_ mean of him.

"_Did… did you call her Mary-Ann?" _the major asked. Mom and Dad shared a look of puzzlement at his sudden question and then turned back to him.

"_Yes, he did. Why, is something the matter?" _Mum questioned.

"_It's… it's nothing," _the major replied, _"it's just that… I had a sister called Mary-Ann once." _He turned to me. _"But she had blonde hair, so you couldn't possibly be her."_

I don't know why, but I felt compelled to tell him about my hair. Like it was really important. _"I had it dyed brown! It was… blonde before." _I looked down to the ground, holding my wrist. I thought it would tell me that it was irrelevant.

"_Come… come over here. Let me see the colour of your eyes."_

Hesitantly, I walked over to him, stopping when I was stood just right in front of him. I had my head bowed down, which meant my hair was hiding my eyes from his view. Suddenly, I felt his finger lifting my chin up—and then he gasped. I looked into his eyes—and I gasped, too.

I was… looking into the same pair of eyes! Literally, _exactly _the same!

So I said what any normal person wouldsay.

"_Did… did you steal my eyes when I wasn't looking?"_

"_You ARE Mary-Ann! Only our family has that kind of sense of humour around he—"_

"—_wait; did you say 'our' family?" _

"_Yes! You're my little sister!" _

My eyes widened and all time stood still. Besides me, I could hear Mom start to cry (I don't know _why_ she was crying) and Dad chuckle.

"_Me?"_

"_Yes, you!" _the major nodded excitedly with a wide grin on his face. Then he pulled me into a tight hug. _"Oh, I'm so glad you're alive! I thought you died in the attack!" _

I pushed him away from me. _"Whoa, whoa, whoa. WHAT attack?" _It was the first I'd heard of it. I turned my head to my parents and sent them a glare. They had failed to relay _that_ piece of information to me three years ago.

"_You mean you don't remember it?"_

"_No, I'm just messing with you and I'm going to yell 'SURPRISE!' in a minute." _A moment's silence followed. _"Of _course_ I don't remember it! I got amnesia!"_

The major gasped. _"You did? Well, to be honest… you're lucky!"_

"_Why?" _I asked. I looked to Mom and Dad – but they had vanished. Probably to give me and my… "brother" some privacy. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

"_Mary-Ann… I don't think you're ready to hear. I mean, you've only just learnt I exist. To be educated on what happened to our parents… it would tear you ap—"_

"_Yeah, they were brutally murdered," _I guessed, waving my hand casually. I was correct in my assumption.

"_So, you know then. Do you know why they were murdered?"_

"_No."_

"_Very well. I'll tell you when I think you can deal with it."_

He has told me, and it's… quite awful really. But I could care less to be fair. I have two loving parents. Oh, lemme tell you about my brother (I know he's my brother because we got a DNA test). He's really funny and very laid-back… when he's not acting as major, that is.

He told me how he became major: _"I was fifteen when our parents died. When our town got up and running again, people decided that they didn't want to go through any fuss from choosing a completely new major, so I was elected. People trusted me, and knew how mature I was at that age."_

Pretty cool, right?

But I did start to wonder why he didn't come looking for me.

"_I was told that you were murdered, too. I knew that if I believed you were alive, it would cause me more heartbreak than knowing you were dead. So I never bothered to look. I don't regret it, having met your adopted family. You have a much better life with them than you would have had with me."_

I guess that makes sense.

Oh my Hyne, I've written a lot, haven't I? WOW. That's amazing! I'm quite a brilliant writer. Hey, maybe I could be a writer when I'm older, then. Whoa, thanks, Mom.

Oh my _HYNE_. My family are _determined_ to get me downstairs. It's only Dad's birthday… sigh. _Fine_.

_Mary-Ann Leonhart, 2898._

**Author's Notes: I started writing this in February and I actually wanted to upload it on the 23****rd**** of August, but I didn't finish it by then. This contains British humour, but I think anyone not British should be able to understand the comedy pretty good. The first form of this story wasn't actually meant to be funny, but I didn't want it to be all depressing. The first form of this story actually started from when Mary-Ann was found when her parents were killed. I might actually still do that. But anyway, there's one more chapter to come. **

**Yunagirlamy, 1.11.10.**


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